The Age of Worms Chapter 1: The Whispering Cairn (Game Thread, Closed, Started)

DarkRawen

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James never sipped on a potion. He didn't carefully taste it to see if he could feel some of its effects, or see if something was amiss. He downed the thing, because, honestly, if he started thinking more about it, touching it would become far more difficult. He didn't exactly want to think about the risks. However, he was an excellent alchemist, and this potion, like most others, was perfect. Even so, he felt strength running through his body, but his mind was not any clearer than it had been a little while ago.

Too bad it wasn't the "clear my mind" ingredients that got smashed towards the wall.

Not that those existed, James didn't really know how to make a potion like that but still. It wasn't until the wizard did something, muttering prayers, that James' head cleared up. And fuck if he got a shock when it did, getting startled by the fucking stone statue in the middle of the room, fighting the others.

"Oh damn. Fuck!" He felt a jolt run through his body as he realised that he hadn't just been sleepy. "What the bloody hell happened?!" he asked himself, rubbing his temple. It still hurt, but whatever anger he'd held towards the Goliath had been replaced by the feeling of both being a complete moron and the strength still running through his body. "Right, didn't show it respect, right?" He bit his lip. That wasn't his fault, he didn't know how to show respect.

Well, what now?

Clearly, you couldn't just hit a statue anywhere. It probably didn't care if he somehow got the head off or something either, would just keep on moving. And, he wouldn't admit it, but he owed the others the help, most of all the goddamn Goliath, which had either taken the chance to hit him for its own satisfactions, or... it had saved his life.

That's a predicament to be sure. I might owe him an apology. Ugh, what a drag.

James had his pride, though, he wasn't going to just apologise out of nowhere. Besides, whether it was the potion or the headache, he still was pretty pissed at being thrown towards the wall.

So, if the Goliath saved me... the statue. The fucking "Hey please show respect because I'm such a bloody important" statue.

He readied his daggers and ran ahead, hitting not at its neck or back, but attempting to run the blades into the arm wielding the weapon, hoping to break it off by jamming it into the weakest point of the arm. It did, however, require him to run in front of him, taking a bit of refuge underneath those very arms, hoping he'd be quick enough to dodge if it ever brought its weapon down.
 

hiei82

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As Thalith struck the statue once more, with James striking the weakened arm, their victory seemed assured. In a desperate attempt to maintain its control, the statue used the last of the strength in its nearly broken arm to parry one of Thalith's heavy blows. Between James' enhanced blow to the statues inner elbow and the massive leverage of Thalith's own blow, the arm crumbled away. The blow was stopped, but the arm was gone.

However, the statue was nothing if not persistent. Even as its primary weapon clattered to the ground, he swung his remaining arm up and into Thalith's face with all the strength the statue could bare. Thalith could hear the sound of stone shattering as the statue's fist connected, though whether it was the sound of the statue's hand breaking, his own face, or both he did not know; for Thalith hit the ground with a second massive crack - this time the floor.

Barely standing, the statue pivoted to James intent on ending the much-more-fragile man then and there. It might have succeeded had it not been for Charles. With the full power of Ezra called to his aid, the priest let free a blast of divine power. And with that, whatever force animated the statue was broken. Held together with little more than its magic at this point, the statue crumbled further until little more than an accidental bust remained.
 

DarkRawen

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James shuddered as he thought of what could have happened, even if he was angry about it. Part of him wanted to curl up and cry. However, he pushed himself out of it, and tried to focus on the slightly less pathetic feeling. That changed things up. He only got a few seconds of calm before his mouth went before his mind. He pointed at the Goliath. "Okay, I'm pissed about the fact that you decided that throwing me into the wall was the best way to protect me, but I'm even more angry about the fact that I apparently owe you now. Or actually, forget that, because I'm fairly sure I helped you out a great deal by offing that thing's arm. So we're bloody even, or whatever. You-" he pointed his finger at Charles.

"I owe you too, but I'm not good at saying thank you, so just assume I've already done it. I mean, I've acknowledged it out loud, so what more could you possibly want?" He huffed, and then he hissed a bit. "What I'm the most angry about, however, is that I didn't show the statue respect." He rubbed the back of his head, it still hurt a lot. "I'm so bloody stupid, I knew this was what it was referring to, a statue in the middle of nowhere where the murder-flies didn't want to enter, I knew it was this statue. I mean, the room before was filled with statues, and the words, and the setting, and the..." he trailed off, there was too many things he felt had given it away.

It was my fault.

"Anyhow, the point is, I messed up, badly. I'm not going to apologise, I'm no good with that either, but just so that you people know, I totally did a bad thing. I've been annoyed over block-head just triggering every single trap, but this time it was me. Even if I knew what needed to be done! I just wanted to take a closer look at it, and I thought I could show it respect, but I just didn't know how quickly it would react and I didn't know how to show respect I mean, what do you do, bow? Tell it its hair look pretty? Did it even have hair? I don't bloody fucking know, I don't know how to show respect to actual people!" He crossed his arms, frustrated, stressed, angry with himself, most of all. A bit scared from earlier, heart certainly hadn't calmed down, nor had head.

"And now I'm stressed, and I'm ranting, and... I'm saying everything aloud. Dammit! I just... need a moment to calm down. You guys figure out what to do, because I'm sure as hell not." He withdrew from the group a little, hiding himself somewhat in the large blue coat with all the pockets.
 

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Charles sighed as the battle ended. As James started talking, Charles picked up his torch again and approached the rubble and stuck his hand into it, starting to search it for anything interesting. Even if all he found was rubble he intended to take a chunk of it with him. Some part of his mind was telling him that part of the cairn's guardian on him could be useful down here.

Noticing James shrink away from the group, he assumed to be alone after his outburst, Charles asked simply to the group "Is anyone hurt?" Which was followed shortly by in an attempt to take charge, "We need someone watching the door, someone searching the walls, and another searching the slabs. If the beetles spill in or we don't find an exit we'll have bigger problems than the statue on our hands."